Over 53% of Electricity Consumers in Nigeria Still Pay Estimated Bills

• NERC Q3 2024 report has shown that despite efforts to get electricity consumers in Nigeria metered, over 53% are still unmetered
• The breakdown shows that out of Nigeria's 13.3 million registered electricity consumers, 6.15million are metered, and 7.18 million are not metered
• Discos like Eko, Ibadan, Ikeja and Benin recorded significant improvement in their metering compared to Q2, while Aba, Kaduna and Jos saw a decline

Legit.ng journalist Ruth Okwumbu-Imafidon has over a decade of experience in business reporting across digital and mainstream media.

Despite efforts from the federal government to encourage the metering of electricity consumers in Nigeria, more than 53% remain unmetered.

According to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC)’s third-quarter (Q3) 2024 report, this was the situation up till Q3, 2024.

This implies that more than half of Nigerian households and businesses still have to pay estimated electricity bills, that may not adequately reflect their consumption.

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The report, which captured data up to 30 September 2024, showed that while Nigeria has about 13.34 million customers across all 12 Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos), only 6.15 million customers have prepaid electricity meters, leaving the other 7.18 million without meters.

A steady growth in the numbers

According to the CHAMPION news, the NERC report shows a steady growth in the number of metered customers.

Compared to Q2 2024, when only 51,826 customers had new prepaid meters installed, Q3 had 184,507 new meter installations, showing about 256% growth from the last quarter.

Three DisCos accounted for the bulk of the new installations; Ikeja had 25.45%, Ibadan 21.48%, and Abuja 14.61%.

Some DisCos showed substantial growth in their new meter installations, compared to the Q2; Eko was the highest with +2,120%, Ibadan with +575.60%, Ikeja with +417.40%, and Benin with +389.32% improvements.

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Some others showed negative growth in new meter installations, like Aba with -43.90%, Kaduna with -24.69%, and Jos with -9.31%.

Prepaid meters for all

Recall that Nigeria's Minister for Power, Adebayo Adelabu, had announced the procurement of 1.8 million meters in October 2024.

According to the minister, this was part of the Presidential metering initiative and was meant to fast-track the end of estimated billing in Nigeria. The World Bank also supported the government with funds to acquire 3 million meters in phased deliveries over five years.

In November 2024, Yola Electricity Distribution Company (YEDC) started free metering for customers on its Band A feeders. Customers in Adamawa, Borno, Taraba and Yobe benefited from this initiative.

Eko Disco also set up an application portal on its website for customers to apply for meters. The DisCo also assured customers that whatever payment they made for meters would be refunded as tokens.

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Hike in prepaid meter prices

Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported that electricity distribution companies recently announced an upward review in the price of prepaid meters.

The new price adjustment by DisCos affected both single-phase and three-phase prepaid meters and was part of the ongoing deregulation of Meter Asset Providers (MAP), as mandated by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).

Prepaid meters now range between N117,000 and N149,800, depending on the distribution company and meter supplier.

Source: Legit.ng